A World of Color
by dydshark
Summary: Written for Sasusaku month 2014. Prompts will (hopefully) be connected! Sasuke has always lived in a world of blacks and whites. Sakura tends to see things too much in pinks and reds. But maybe together they can build a world of color.
1. Eyes Wide Open

**Title: **Eyes Wide Open

**Summary:** Sometimes, a well placed paint bucket is all it takes.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** The Smell of Fresh Paint

**Warnings:** None

**Comments:** Ehh... I'll edit this later. For now, I know I'm really late. :/

Uchiha Sasuke had always lived in a world of blacks and whites: the Uchiha are an elite and powerful class of shinobi. Uchiha Itachi is the bestest brother in the world. Konoha is a good place.

The massacre had only stained his world blacker: The Uchiha had been an elite and powerful class of shinobi and the only family he would ever know. Uchiha Itachi is the demon spawn and exists solely to torture his little brother. Konoha is full of weak shinobi.

It was only after Itachi's reincarnation that grey was introduced into Sasuke's world: The Uchiha were powerful, but misguided. Itachi tortured him because he loved him. Konoha often initiated plans with noble intentions that resulted horrific consequences.

* * *

"The hospital needs more money. We can't handle the influx of injured shinobi at the moment, and I know for a fact that hospitals in all five nations are overflowing. We lack the personel, the equipment, even the beds to be able to treat this many patients. There's also a deplorable lack of communication between villages. Injuries caused by kekkei genkei or poison are tricky to treat, and we don't have sufficient information to operate confidently," Sakura reported stiffly.

"While we understand the problem," Shikamaru said tiredly, "unfortunately every sector is demanding more money, and they're all giving justified reasons for needing the money too. I'm sorry Sakura, but the truth is that you're going to have to make do with what you have. Konoha just doesn't have the money to grant everyone all of the resources they need at the moment."

Immediately, Sakura wilted. "Understood. Thank you Shikamaru," she said dejectedly.

Walking back to the hospital, Sakura was so deep in thought trying to work out a system to accommodate the injured, she didn't hear her name being called until Naruto was practically in her face.

"SAKURA!" Startled, she took a step back and away from Naruto's stinky ramen-breath.

"Naruto, geez! No need to get in my face like that."

"But I've been calling you for the last five minutes! Sasuke and me are at Ichiraku. Come join us!"

"Sorry Naruto," she apologized, "I need to get back to the hospital. There was a new batch of pat––"

"Aw, c'mon Sakura. Take a break! The war is won, Kaguya is defeated, all five great nations are at peace, and the best part is," Naruto enthused, all the while steering her towards Ichiraku, "Sasuke is back!" And before Sakura quite knew what had happened, she was pushed into a stool before Ichiraku's brand new counter.

"Naruto—"

"Ah, Sakura-chan, how are you tonight? I haven't seen you around in awhile!" Teuchi-san greeted her amiably.

"I've been fine, thanks—actually really busy lately. I should probably g—"

"Well, what do you think about the new improvements to the store? We figured we would take advantage of starting over again and expand to serve our hungry guests, especially now that Naruto has been named the next Hokage. I expect we'll be receiving many more guests in the near future," Teuchi-san continued with a smile.

And indeed, now that Sakura looked around, paint cans and stacks of wood littered the floor around the ramen stand. Glancing through the back door, Sakura could see the beams of wood outlining the structure of the new space.

"It looks wonderful, Teuchi-san," Sakura beamed.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. Would you like your usual?"

"I wish I could, but I actually need to leave. The hospital is beyond full to capacity at the moment, and we need all the medics we can get. Even Tsunade-sama is there now to help."

"Wha—seriously?" Naruto demanded. "But-but-but the war is over!"

"Baka," she said, flicking his forehead. "Just because the war is over doesn't mean everyone's injuries gets healed immediately. That last battle especially did a lot of damage. A lot of shinobi are suffering from second and third degree burns because of that lava. And burns are worse than a normal wounds because they take more energy to heal. We need to go down to the cellular level to repair the damage done, and even then, some people will never be fully healed."

"That's—that's terrible," Naruto said, looking upset. "What can we do to help?"

"Nothing, I'm afraid," Sakura said dejectedly. "I just got out of a meeting with Shikamaru, and Konoha's resources are so stretched out right now… All we can do is work harder, be more efficient with our time and chakra."

"But surely… There _has_ to be something!" Eyes blazing, Naruto stood tall and proud, every inch the Hokage he was destined to be.

"Tch, they're wasting their time," came a voice beside them. Both teammates whirled around to stare at Sasuke, who'd gone unnoticed in their conversation. "They shouldn't be trying to heal everyone. Most of those shinobi are useless anyway. The ones with significant kekkei genkei or high rank should have priority."

"Wha—How could you say that?" Naruto demanded, horrified. Behind him, Sakura's hands clenched into fists.

"It's true. This village is severely lacking in good shinobi. It needs as much skill as it can get right now to defend itself from potential invaders." Fists shaking with rage, Sakura reached for the nearest thing. "The rest of them will just get in the way anyways."

"Sasuke."

Both men turned towards Sakura just as she threw an entire pail of bright yellow paint over Sasuke. Cool rivulets of yellow trickled down his face, highlighting his widened eyes. The ramen bar was deadly silent. All eyes were trained on a trembling Sakura.

Dipping her hands into a red and green paint bucket, she stomped over to Sasuke and shoved him. "Grow up," she snarled. "The world isn't just black and white, and those _weaklings_ deserve our care as much as anyone else. We can't all be overpowered assholes, or who _knows_ what society would be like."

And with that, she spun around and stalked off.

Maybe it was the smell of fresh paint—the fumes clouding his judgment—or maybe it was the yellow filter suddenly impeding his view, but that was the first time Sasuke really saw _pink_.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hi! Soo I'm trying my hand at the Sasusaku month prompts on Tumblr! This is really rushed, and I haven't had time to read it over, but I'll edit it later. Hope you like it, and please review!

Also, I have a tumblr now. I'll post the link to my profile. Uhh... Follow me? ^_^

~dydshark


	2. Sheer Bribery

**Title: **Sheer Bribery

**Summary:** They always said actions were better than words anyway.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** Late

**Warnings:** None

**Comments:** Ehh... I'll edit this later. It's late, and this is my second prompt of the night.

"No, no, no," Sakura muttered as she hurried to the hospital café. 5:59. They couldn't close _right_ on time… right? She could totally make it. "Come on…"

"No!" Rounding the corner, her heart sunk to see the wiry gate surrounding the café's counter. One lone employee was cleaning up for the night, and Sakura ran to her desperately. "Excuse me, miss, but do you think I could order some food?"

The woman shook her head firmly. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we're closed for the night."

"Please," Sakura pleaded desperately. "I skipped lunch today, and there aren't any good takeout places near my house. I don't want much, just—"

"If I let you order food, I would have to warm the stoves back up," the woman interjected impatiently, "and we would be here for another hour. I'm sorry. We're closed."

Sakura's shoulders slumped. She turned to go, mind running through all the nearby restaurants. Her other alternative was to grab stale anko dumplings from the vending—

"Sakura?"

Hearing her name, Sakura looked up. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Sasuke down the hallway. "Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Community service," he grunted, as Sakura walked towards him.

"Oh, that's right! Shishou somehow heard about what you said the other day. I heard you got a serious scolding from her," she said serenely. "Well, we do need all the _help_ we can get so that _everyone_ can be attended to. And what do you think, now that you're _actually_ hands deep in burnt flesh and screams of agony?"

Sasuke said nothing, but looked away. Instead, he shoved a bento box in front of her.

"Eh? What's this?" she asked, peering into it.

"Onigiri. I packed myself dinner, knowing Tsunade would give me the worst shift possible," he muttered. "We can share."

"Ah, no that's fine, Sasuke-kun! That's yours! I couldn't possibly—"

"Sakura." She looked up at him. "Just take some," he said through gritted teeth.

She stared at him for a moment longer, taking in his tensed stance, the way he refused to look her in the eye, and then, the blood on his sleeves, the new callouses forming on his fingers. Realization dawned on her, and she grinned slyly before taking a rice ball. "Apology accepted, Sasuke-kun."


	3. Outstanding

**Title: **Outstanding

**Summary:** Sometimes tough love is better love.

**Prompt:** Phobia

**Warnings:** None

**Comments:** Because I think we overlook that Sakura is also immature.

Sasuke had never seen Naruto so nervous before. A bowl of ramen before him, and all he could do was stare at it.

"Dobe."

Naruto looked up.

"That ramen isn't going to eat itself."

The boy gulped before rasping out, "I'm not hungry."

"Is this what every date is like?" Sai questioned from his other side.

Immediately, Naruto erupted in his face. "It's not just _any_ date, Sai! It's—it's a date with… Hinata." The panic seemed to set back in, and he promptly relapsed into his comatose state, eyes wide and vacant.

Sasuke snorted. "Outstanding."

Suddenly, a poof of smoke lit up the countertop as Katsuyu appeared. "Naruto-kun! Sakura requests your presence at the hospital immediately! It's an emergency!"

Naruto jumped to his feet, hands frantically searching for his gamakichi money pouch. "Oh no, oh no, oh no," he muttered. "I need to meet Hinata in an hour. Hopefully it won't take that long—"

A hand roughly pushed him back into his chair. "I'll go," Sasuke said, standing. "You're too anxious to be of any help anyways."

Naruto sagged in relief. "Thanks, Sasuke."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

When Sasuke got to Sakura's office, he found it shut. No noises came from within. Slipping a kunai out of his pouch, he knocked.

"Come in!" Sakura's voice chimed from behind the door.

Sasuke opened the door smoothly, slipping into the room like a shadow. Eyes searching the room for threats, his suspicion grew when no apparent danger presented itself.

"Sasuke-kun! What are you doing here?" She was seated at her desk, pen in hand and a stack of paper before her.

"You sent a message to Naruto," he said. "You said it was important."

"Oh, yes well," she looked slightly uncomfortable. "There's a spider on the ceiling. Could you kill it?"

In the silence that followed, Sakura looked up to see Sasuke staring at her blankly. "What?"

"That's it?" he demanded. "That's what was so urgent?"

"Look, I have arachnophobia—"

"It's Naruto's first date with Hinata, and he's sitting at Ichiraku right now freaking the fuck out, and you call him over for an _important emergency_ to kill a spider," Sasuke bit out.

Sakura's face reddened. Standing, she glared at him. "Yes, Sasuke-kun," she hissed. "Because phobias can't be cured with the snap of your fingers. It's a medical condition, and _I can't do my work properly when I'm trying not to hyperventilate._"

"You seem to be doing just fine right now," he spat. "Why didn't you get one of your nurses to help you if you're so afraid?"

"For this exact reason!" Sakura yelled back. "Because none of them would understand. I should've known you would attack me for this! This is why only Naruto can help me—"

"Naruto does it because he loves you," Sasuke said contemptuously, forcing Sakura to still. "He would do anything for you at the snap of your fingers, no matter how unfair it is to him. And you are using him and his emotions, even as he tries to get over you. How pathetic can you get? How do you expect me to take you seriously when you give me no reasons to? You know, this is just _outstanding_. Maybe I'm not the only one who needs to grow up, _Sakura_."

They stood staring at each other. Sakura was breathing heavily, unbridled fury and shame raging through her, battling to be the dominant emotion while Sasuke stood tall, cool eyes passing judgment on her. And then slowly, he turned around and left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Before anyone gets too upset with me, this is supposed to be a story about Sakura and Sasuke growing up. Neither of them are perfect. Both need to be imperfect and _wrong_ sometimes. And I think what makes Sasuke such a good match to Sakura is for the very reason he gives her: he doesn't take her bullcrap. He's never going to baby her, and in a way, she needs that. He was the reason she got stronger, and in a way, he makes her a better person. So even though it's sasusaku month, and thus far, none of my fics have focused on their romantic relationship, please bear with me. I'm getting there, I promise.

On a completely note, the "outstanding" that Sasuke keeps saying is from Karl Urban (Bones from the new Star Trek)'s influence on me. I've been watching a lot of his movies recently, and he has the right kind of ascorbic, but actually soft-hearted personality for Sasuke.

~dydshark


	4. Hate Breeds Hate

**Title: **Hatred breeds hatred.

**Summary:** Atoning for your past wrongs is hard. Sometimes, people aren't so forgiving.

**Prompt:** There was no warning.

**Warnings:** T for swearing

**Comments:** Not romance yet, but it's building up to something a little fluffier.

There was no warning. Sasuke's eyes snapped open the instant he inhaled a lungful of ashy smoke. He was out of bed and throwing on clothes. He threw open the window, preparing to leap out of the burning building when an object came hurtling towards him. He dodged. Barely. But by the flapping sound that had accompanied it as it flew past him, he knew it had to be a paper bomb.

More bombs were coming his way. Instinct took over, and he ducked away from the window and further into his apartment just as the paper bomb went off. A deafening _boom_ and the accompanying shock wave momentarily disoriented him, and he stumbled into his living room.

"UCHIHA!" A voice bellowed from below. "Prepare to go to hell, you fucking bastard!"

More paper bombs smashed through the windows, , thudding against the opposite walls. Sasuke ducked as they detonated.

Smoke engulfed the tiny apartment, blinding his sharingan and invading his windpipe. Oxygen refused to enter his lungs, and he choked, working desperately to get sufficient air. All around him, flames were beginning to lick up the front door, consuming wooden table in the kitchen.

Sasuke heard rather than saw a body sail through the broken window, landing lightly. Gritting his teeth in anger, he closed his eyes, drew his katana, and waited. For once the smoke acted as an equalizer; within moments, he'd run into a piece of furniture—the side table, Sasuke guessed, judging by the earsplitting crash of the lamp that followed, and immediately, Sasuke was on him.

The poor bastard didn't stand a chance.

With a single downward slash, Kusanagi bit deep into the shinobi's shoulder, wrangling a blood curdling scream from him. He drew the blade out with a sickening squelch and prepared to deliver the killing blow.

The other shinobi laughed weakly.

Centimeters from its target, his blade paused. The other man continued to laugh, unaware of how closely he had been to death. "Go ahead, traitor," he whispered. "A life for a life."

And suddenly, Sasuke understood. As part of his probational sentence, the counsel had mandated that should he kill a Konoha citizen, he would immediately receive a death sentence.

With a flick of his wrist, Sasuke reversed the direction of the blade, driving the butt into the man's neck and knocking him out. More bodies came hurtling into the room. Sasuke cursed quietly before quickly leaning over the unconscious man and grabbing his breathing device.

The difference between air quality was astounding. He took deep, grasping breaths, beating back the fog that had pervaded his mind and lungs.

Perhaps too deep because the next instant, kunai shot out towards him from several directions, just missing him as he fell to the floor instinctively. He rolled as another volley of kunai rained over his head.

Mind racing, he knew he needed to escape. The fastest way was to jump through the broken window and fly off on a summon. Sasuke hesitated, eyes flickering to the smokey outline of his bedroom. But there was no time; muffled footsteps were fast approaching. He flipped himself onto his stomach, preparing to make the dash.

"_Suiton: Suiryūdan no jutsu!_"

Sasuke had never been so relieved to feel the spray of water against his back as the water dragon ripped through his destroyed apartment momentarily catching the enemy off guard. Above their discordant cries of dismay, he heard yet another beautiful, absolutely _perfect _sound:

"SHANNARO!"

A shadow, like a bullet sailed through his poor, misused window and connected hard with a foe to his left. The man flew backwards into the kitchen headed towards the kitchen sink. The sickening crunch as his spine broke was barely audible over the crash of metal and concrete as kept going, making a sizable crater by the time his momentum had halted.

By then, Sakura had moved. Fists connecting again and again with her opponents, she sent them flying around the apartment, crashing into furniture or walls. Within the time it took the first man to make a dent, no one but Sasuke and Sakura were standing.

"Sasuke-kun, we need to get out of here. The apartment is about to collapse," she said urgently, striding towards the window. "Kakashi-sensei has the ground neutralized. Let's go!"

"Wait," Sasuke said shortly, causing Sakura's face to snap up sharply. He sprinted back to his bedroom and made a beeline for his rucksack by his bedside. Bag in hand, he returned to Sakura who wordlessly nodded before jumping out gracefully with Sasuke following close behind.

From his position underneath a nearby tree, Kakashi straightened, book snapping shut as he made his way to greet them. "Good to know you're safe, Sasuke."

"Aa." Sakura shoved him with a shoulder, and he bit out however reluctantly, "Thank you for your help."

"Anytime, Sasuke," Kakashi said, giving them his one-eyed smile. "Now, let's see what we have here."

Sasuke counted twelve bound shinobi, all bearing Konoha headbands, all glaring daggers at him. "These men tried to lure me into attacking and killing one of their members in the hopes that I might be sentenced to death," Sasuke noted quietly.

One of the men nearest Sasuke spat on his sandals. "You don't deserve to live, Uchiha scum."

"They even picked a night when Naruto wasn't around to defend him," Sakura commented, just as lightly. "Obviously, you guys forgot he has other teammates too."

"Or they underestimated our ability," Kakashi added. "But, it does tell us that there's a mole in the Hokage's office. We'll be sure to investigate. I'm sure Tsunade-sama won't be too pleased by that."

"Mm, she really hates spies." The captured men were beginning to look worried, although Sasuke couldn't tell if it was from the smoke, the mention of Tsunade, or the casual way Kakashi and Sakura were talking about the whole ordeal. "Ino told me the last one they caught refused to leave Ibiki-san's office because he was so ashamed of what they'd done to him."

"Well, it's getting late, and it looks like Sasuke's going to need a place to stay. Sakura, why don't you take him to your place. I'll drop these useless sacks off at the prison."

"Okay, Sensei. Let's go, Sasuke-kun. I'm sure your tired. My apartment isn't that far away from here—"

"How could you side with him?" A voice demanded from behind them. "He's killed our friends, our families. That man is nothing but a monster, and yet you protect him, treat him with respect, coddle him even. Have you no shame?"

Sakura paused in the middle of taking a step. Her face was hidden in shadow, much to Sasuke's great disappointment. But just as she turned around to speak, a great groan emanated from behind them. All eyes looked up to see the ceiling to Sasuke's apartment give out. It was like watching an over stuffed sack bursting as all the above apartment's furnishings poured out onto Sasuke's floor. There was a shriek from within, reminding everyone there briefly that _men_ had still been in that room, and then deadly silence.

Sakura cocked her head to one side, eyebrow raised with incredulity. "You are so fixed on killing one man, that you never considered all the other lives you put in danger. So tell me: how does it feel to be a monster yourself?"

All the color drained from the man's face, and when Kakashi tried to drag him along, he obeyed easily, like a limp doll, vacant of any soul.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun. Let's go."

~dydshark


	5. Functionally Sentimental

**Title: **Functionally Sentimental

**Summary: **The question is not where a thing is hidden, but how one hides it.

**Prompt:** Keepsake

**Warnings:**

**Comments:** Takes place immediately after the last prompt. Please let me know what you think of this one! I'm really curious to hear people's reactions.

"You're going to have to stay at my house for the night, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said quietly. "After tonight, I'm not sure I trust the innkeepers not to let assassins into your room."

"Fine."

"I also want to do a quick check up on you. That smoke was really thick, and Kami-sama knows what might have been in it."

"Aa."

"Well, here we are," she said as they arrived to her doorway. "If you would sit on the couch for now, I just need to grab a stethoscope. But you'll have the bed later, promise!"

When Sakura came back, Sasuke had seated himself in the center of the couch. "Sasuke-kun? Would you lift up your shirt? I need to check your breathing."

He did as told, pulling the cloth up just enough so Sakura could sneak the round end under and place it over his lungs. His skin contracted briefly at the feel of the cold metal and then settled.

"Now, please breathe in. And out." He did so, watching the way Sakura's head would tilt ever so slightly as she listened to his even breathing. Satisfied, she removed the device and said, "Good, I'm going to listen from your back this time. Same procedure."

Several more seconds of silence passed, and then she put the stethoscope away for good. "Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Now that that's over with, I'm going to make us tea." And she jumped up and headed toward the kitchen.

With Sakura out of the room, Sasuke's mind returned back to the scene at his apartment. He was furious, and a part of him wanted nothing more than to leave now and avenge himself. And yet, he knew he couldn't—not if he wanted the chance to change the village. Not if he wanted to become Hokage. For his brother, he swore he would change this village, this time through a less destructive path. For Itachi.

_You need to trust us to do the right thing, just as we must trust you not to turn on us_, Tsunade had said at his hearing.

Eyes closed as he wrestled with his anger, he only barely registered Sakura return to the room.

"Sasuke-kun?" He looked up in surprise. Sakura was seated next to him, eyes curious. "May I ask a question—and you don't need to answer it if you don't want to. It's just I was curious about it and—"

"What, Sakura?"

"Um… Why did you go back for your bag? I mean, I understand how it might have some supplies… an extra change of clothes, maybe… but the way you ran for it makes me think, well that there was something special about it. A-and that's fine! That's actually really cool, actually, because I didn't think it was possible anymore for you to, um, y'know, care about something. Oh Kami, I didn't mean to say that. I'm so sorry! That came out _so_ wrong—"

"It's not what's in the bag," Sasuke said quietly. He wasn't sure why he was telling her. He'd never told anyone, had felt no compulsion to tell her until she'd started rambling in such a _Sakura_ way.

_You need to trust us_.

"As shinobi, we have no room for objects with sentimental value. In fact, personal things can lead to recognition and worse. So we are told never to bring keepsakes along for missions." He picked up his bag as Sakura looked on with wide eyes. "But I was ten when my family was murdered. I couldn't cut those ties no matter how hard I tried. This bag is all I have left of my home."

Running a hand over the lip, he paused at the intricate clasp holding it shut. Unable to stop herself, Sakura moved closer to get a better look. From her new vantage point, she realized it was an arrowhead, worn down from near constant rubbing. "My first kill. We were hunting a deer, and I managed to pierce its skull. My father dug this arrowhead out afterwards and told me to keep it as a reminder."

He undid the clasp and flipped it open. Sakura could barely make out the inside of the bag, but to her surprise, Sasuke seemed more interested in feeling along the sides of it. "I had a stuffed dinosaur I used to carry around all the time," he admitted. "It was too big to carry around after… so I went to a tanner and got them to line the inside of this bag with his fur for all the time I needed reassurance."

Closing it, he said a little more swiftly, "The fabric is from my mother's old kunoichi vest. She'd always taken pride in its sturdiness, and it smelled of her for a long time. I have nothing from Itachi though. All of his gifts, his memories, I threw out as soon as I could." Sasuke paused, exhaling deeply. "I regret that now.

"To anyone else, this is just a bag. It fulfills its purpose as a container. But to me, it will always mean something more. It's all I have left of my family."

Unable to contain her tears further, Sakura threw her arms around him, catching him off guard. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun. Thank you for telling me this. I-it means a lot. I-I know we'll never be able to replace your family, but I _swear_, I swear, we'll do our best to be your new family," she sobbed into his shirt. Almost immediately afterwards, she let go, cheeks flaming. "A-anyways, I should go to sleep. I need to be up early tomorrow. Um, I'll see you in the morning, I guess. Good night, Sasuke-kun."

He watched as she tottered off to bed, still occasionally wiping her eyes. He still wasn't sure what had induced him to reveal one of his best kept secrets, but he found that he didn't regret doing so. Her reaction, as soggy as it was, had also been comforting. It'd brought out a part of Sakura he'd believed to be long dead. Absentmindedly, he reached into the recess of the bag, hands easily finding one of its many secret pouches. His hands closed on the two thin sheets there, and he pulled them up.

They were two photographs. One was marred by its dark colors. All dark blues and blacks. A frowning father. A smiling mother. And a brother torn between two worlds. Kami knew how often he'd traced over each figure. Desperately wishing he could see them one last time. But they were gone for good.

He turned his attention to the second photograph. Taken some years later, this picture was far more colorful. Pink and orange and green looked back at him. Unbidden, a small smile crossed his lips.

A new family, huh?


	6. Road to Respect

**Title: **Road to Respect

**Summary:** Sasuke never would have guessed that Sakura was not so secretly a nerd.

**Prompt:** Night In

**Warnings:** K

**Comments:** Unedited

The attack on Uchiha Sasuke was the talk of the town the next morning. The marketplace became such a breeding ground of conflict between supporters and denouncers of Sasuke that the Hokage herself personally marched down to the center square and promptly ended all further discussion with a powerful fist to the ground.

But perhaps, not all reactions stemming from the incident were negative. Everywhere, Sasuke garnered sympathizers who felt that the attacks had been unjust. As he walked from Sakura's apartment to the training grounds that afternoon, villagers stopped him again and again to give him gifts—food mostly, but some gave money or useful household tools ranging from soup ladles to a used set of pots and pans.

In fact, the number of condolences he received was so much, that he was forced to turn around halfway there to drop all of it off back at Sakura's apartment. She burst out laughing when she saw him stumble through the door awkwardly with his new possessions.

"You could furnish an entirely new apartment with all those goods, Sasuke-kun," she laughed from her seat on the couch.

"Hn."

"Oh, don't pout. It's sweet. The village is warming up to you!"

"Outstanding," he muttered sarcastically.

She laughed again. "Oh, that reminds me. I talked to Tsunade-sama, and we both agreed that it's best you stay with someone from Team 7 while we make sure those idiots were the only ones involved. I figured you would want to stay with Naruto, but he's not back from his mission for a few days. Kakashi's about to start off on a mission soon. And Sai is a little too new of an acquaintance for you to be comfortable with him, so I guess you're stuck here for a while."

"Outstanding," Sasuke said again. He turned to go when something occurred to him. Looking back, he noted how she was dressed in comfortable clothing. A mug of tea sat on the coffee table, and a book rested on her lap. "Don't you have work?"

"What? Of course not! It's Saturday, Sasuke-kun. I don't work weekends unless I'm on call."

"What happened to the hospital needing as many medics as possible?" he demanded.

"We managed to contact local civilian hospitals and gave them the less severe patients," she replied with a smile. "Our numbers are just starting to deflate; this is the first weekend I've had off in forever!"

"Hn. I'm going to train. I'll see you tonight."

"Okay! Bye, Sasuke-kun."

* * *

Several hours later, Sasuke made it back to the apartment after successfully evading any further gift givers. To his immense surprise, Sakura hadn't moved, except to turn on the lamp due to the growing dusk.

He must've been staring for awhile, because she looked up abruptly. "What?"

"You were there when I left."

"Yes. And?"

"You're still here."

"Yeah. So?"

"It's your day off."

"What's your point, Sasuke-kun?" she demanded impatiently.

"I would have thought you would spend it out with friends," he finally admitted.

"Oh, yes well, unfortunately, I need to catch up on some new medical findings that were recently published," she said quickly, redirecting her attention to the big tomb on her lap. "It seems the role of a medic never ends." And with that, she re-immersed herself in her reading.

Sasuke continued to stare, suddenly struck dumbfounded by a revelation.

His snort prompted her to look up again, irritated. "Unbelievable," he said.

"What is it this time?" she demanded in exasperation.

Sasuke smirked. "You're a nerd."

Spluttering in protest, Sakura wrestled her way out of the soft couch and followed him as he made his way past the living room. "I am _not_. Take that back!"

She halted right outside of the bathroom door, arms crossed and expression mulish. Sasuke took a step closer so that they were centimetres apart. "You've been engrossed in a medical book on your day off. You could barely take your attention off of it to talk to _me_," he breathed. Sakura's breath inadvertently hitched when she felt his breath fan over her face. He leaned closer still. "Trust me. You're a nerd."

And then he closed the door on her face.

Snapping out of her daze, Sakura stomped her foot petulantly. "Uchiha!"

She whirled around, prepared to flounce off and back to her book, when she heard his voice from beyond the door say, "Sakura. It takes one to know one."

For dignity's sake, she still flounced. But she flounced with an unstoppable smile on her lips.


	7. An Understanding

**Title: **An Understanding

**Summary:** We've spent so many years growing apart. Let's grow together from now on.

**Prompt:** Night Out

**Warnings:** K

**Comments:** Unedited. Hate the ending. The end is sort of inspired by _The Book Thief_, which is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet read it.

In the week that Sasuke stayed with Sakura, he found that she rarely, if ever, went out after coming home from work. Sometimes, it was understandable; long hours attending to patients and sitting through dull meetings whittled a person's spirits down to the smallest nub. Other times, she was just too damn _lazy_ to leave.

"It's too troublesome," she whined once. "If I go out, I have to get dressed up and put on makeup. I'd much rather read. There's a fascinating article on the human genome and it affects chakra…" She'd trailed off at the smirk Sasuke leveled at her. Suddenly self-conscious, she cleared her throat and hurried on, "Besides, my couch is much to comfy. It refuses to let me leave."

And for good measure, she'd shot back, "Anyways, I thought you were antisocial. Why does it matter that I stay at home?"

He'd stopped talking after that.

On the seventh day, he'd had enough. Naruto was two days late, and he was tired of watching Sakura read her case studies.

"Sakura, let's go." She looked up in surprise to see him standing by the door and ready to leave.

"Eh? What's going on?" she asked in confusion.

"We're spending the night out," he replied gruffly. "Don't change. You look acceptable."

Perplexed, Sakura persisted, "But why do you need _me_ to go out? It's not like you can't handle yourself."

"It's not… _polite_ to come and go from here as if I owned it," he said, ears turning the slightest shade of pink.

"… Well when you put it that way," Sakura said, a slow smile stretching across her face.

Perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised to find out that Sasuke somehow managed to make even a night out antisocial. He liked to walk in the most crowded, well lit parts of Konoha, where the street vendors stood shouting their wares, where steam billowed from the inside of busy restaurants, and where people rushed by like a river, eyes downcast and unseeing of anything except the way home.

Walking with Sasuke felt isolating. They observed these harried people at their leisure, not participating. Briefly, Sakura wondered if this was how he felt all the time—as if he didn't belong. She followed him loyally though, never bothering to comment on the loneliness she felt, but rather curious to understand this side of Sasuke she'd never seen before.

Eventually, they left the crowded streets and made their way south, walking along well lit streets towards the older part of town.

They stopped in front of a brand new apartment complex, the posters hanging along the walls still advertised open rooms.

"This used to be an older complex Sarutobi maintained for widows and orphaned children," Sasuke finally said quietly.

"Oh!" she gasped, catching on. "This was where you—"

"Aa." Still looking up, he continued, "I used to hate staying in at night. It always felt too empty, too small. One of my neighbors was an old widow whose husband and son had both died in the line of duty, and she would spend most of the night wailing. I couldn't stay there."

"I never did visit you here," Sakura said thoughtfully. "I was so innocent back then, so naïve. I hadn't realized that you… that your family was… Well, maybe it's a little too late, but I want you to know that I'm here for you, and that… whenever you need to talk I'll be available."

"Hn."

Sasuke started walking again, and Sakura hurried to catch up. "Tell me something about yourself," she commanded.

He snorted. "Like what?"

"Hm," her finger tapped pensively against her lip, "for starters, tell me more about living here. More than what you've already said."

"There's not much more to tell," he said. "It was a place to sleep, nothing more."

"No, stop! I want to _understand_, Sasuke-kun, not just hear about it, imagine it. Make me understand it," she insisted.

Brows knitting together, Sasuke tried again. "The place… was a cesspool of misery and despair. Sarutobi's intentions were good, but he failed to realize that placing friendless orphans together doesn't lead to bonding. We had no role models, no families to emulate. And most of the widows there were too beaten down by life to take us in. So the entire complex was trapped in the past, unable to leave behind its tragedies. Unable to grow up. I used to wander the streets at night just to be around people, to see families and remember what I once had. It fueled my hatred for Itachi."

"Did it ever occur to you to talk to some of those families? To befriend someone and _find_ a surrogate family?" Sakura asked.

He shook his head. "I didn't want another family. I already had the perfect one and lost it."

At this, Sakura paused, forcing Sasuke to stop as well. With the moon shining above, he could see her face lit up with determination. "Sasuke-kun, it's like I said at the ramen bar all those months ago: you need to grow up. You've been stuck in the past for so long, you still see the world like a ten year old child; everything is black and white, right and wrong. But the truth is, there are nuances and colors to this world, ones that you're _missing out_! We've been your family all this time—team 7! And whether you like it or not, you're stuck with us because we're not going to let you go so easily, and we'll keep trying until we get through to you.

"And maybe-maybe I'm not the best person to help you. I know I can be immature sometimes, and I'll never understand you the same way Naruto does, but I'd like to help. We've spent so many years growing separately. Let's—let's try to grow together from now on, okay?"

She stuck out her hand in an awkward and tense and brave moment of formality.

It felt like forever and a half before he took it in his own and agreed.

"Okay."


	8. About Love

**Title: **About Love

**Summary:** How he was dragged into this, Sasuke will never know. But after watching Sakura play matchmaker, he might just ship them a little more.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** The student becomes the teacher.

**Warnings:** None

**Comments:** Contains KakaShizu.

It started the way it must: with an overly cheesy love confession and a punch to the face. The entire hospital was in an uproar when its Medical Director was serenaded by no less than thirty gruff, tough shinobi. As the last chords of the rather grating piece rung through the halls (now lined with people, much to _her_ embarrassment), the entire choir disappeared in a puff of smoke. A single shadow was barely distinguishable in the white cloud, but a few things were certain: it had spiky hair and a bouquet of roses to boot.

With a sweep of his hand, the smoke dispersed, and the man bent on one knee, arms extended. Gasps rippled through the hallway at the familiar face of—

"In the time that I have known you, I've come to realize that you are a beautiful, sweet, and caring woman. I swear I love you. Would you go on a date with me, Shizune?"

––Kakashi.

"EHHH?" Shizune's fist connected with Kakashi's face, sending him flying backwards. "WHY WOULD I WANT TO GO ON A DATE WITH A PERVERT?"

And with that, she hurried back into her office and slammed the door. Sakura, her second-in-command, was quick to herd everyone else back to their respective stations.

"Oh, sensei," she said quietly when she came to him. He was clutching his bloody nose with one hand, expression perplexed and not a little stunned. Helping him to his feet, she led him to an examination room. "Let me see. You might have a broken nose, and I'll check your head for a concussion."

The broken nose was healed within minutes. Teacher and student regarded one another with an air of calculation.

"Icha Icha?" she finally asked.

"Aa."

"That was stupid," she snorted.

"It worked for the main character in the book," he shot back.

"That's because it's a book, Kakashi-sensei. Next time you want to try asking her out, you should talk to me."

"Thanks for the offer Sakura, but I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself."

In the following months, Kakashi went through hair-brained idea after idea to ask Shizune out. It was as if he had reverted back to a teenager with the grandeur he carried out every event. And truly, they were _all_ events. There was the time when he pretended to need CPR in the hopes of getting a kiss from her. Or another time, he transformed himself into a box in an attempt to land himself literally into her arms (she figured the trick out and had a burly security officer open it for her. Neither Kakashi nor the security guard were particularly happy with the outcome.). His efforts were so terrible, that besides being outraged that he was hitting on her adopted daughter after his first stunt, Tsunade generally heard tales of his exploits with a loud burst of boisterous laugh.

* * *

"How's your pursuit of Shizune-senpai going?" Sakura asked as Kakashi sat down at Ichiraku.

"Just fine," he said gruffly. The last few months had taken their toll on him. His arm was currently in a sling from the bout with the security guard, and what little could be seen of his face was a pallet of purples and blues.

"That's not what Shizune-senpai was telling me," she said derisively.

Immediately, Kakashi looked up hopefully. "She talks about me?"

"Only to complain or beg me to get you to stop." Kakashi wilted again. "You should've taken my advice in the beginning," Sakura sniffed.

"I think I've learned my lesson already not to trust my students for help," Kakashi muttered.

Several seconds of silence passed before his words sunk in. "EHHH? YOU'VE BEEN GETTING HELP FROM NARUTO?" she shrieked.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto twitched from Sasuke's other side, obviously affronted by her complete derisiveness. "_I'm_ the only one of his students who actually has a girlfriend! Who was he supposed to ask?" he snorted. "_Sasuke_? Teme is like a rock, the leeches come to _him_, not the other way around."

"He could've gone to ME!" she said in utter disbelief.

Unseen by her, Kakashi and Naruto traded a look. But Sasuke saw it, and he frowned at the exasperation and sadness conveyed in the simple gesture. "But… But you're a _girl_, Sakura-chan! You wouldn't understand!" Naruto spluttered out quickly.

"SO WOULDN'T I UNDERSTAND SHIZUNE-SENPAI BETTER THAN YOU, BAKA?" she exploded at his face.

"These techniques are guaranteed to work," Naruto whimpered in fear. "They're how I won Hinata."

"Hinata was already in love with you! _Baka!_ All _you_ needed to do was stutter out a half-assed request for a date! _Also_, Hinata is a teenager! Shizune-senpai is a respected adult! They're two different cases!

"But you know what, I can tell you don't believe me. Kakashi-sensei, I _dare_ you—next time you approach her, do so discreetly, and apologize for all the ruckus you've been causing. If she doesn't treat you any better, then fine, I was wrong. But if she does," and here, Sakura pushed herself up until she was centimetres from Kakashi's face, "then you owe me big time."

"Why am I here?" Sasuke grumbled as Sakura pulled him into another open exam room.

"Because you have nothing better to do," she said, peeking out into the hallway. "Okay, knowing Kakashi-sensei, he'll come just as she's about to leave, that lazy bum. I need you to change into a nurse and keep an eye on her door. Let me know if you see anything."

She was about to leave when Sasuke caught her wrist. "Why does it matter to you that you're right?" he demanded.

She refused to look at him as she said, "You wouldn't understand."

As she predicted, Kakashi appeared in front of her door at five thirty sharp. By then, Sakura had finished her rounds and was hiding with Sasuke inside an office room. Despite himself, Sasuke was curious to see what would happen. He wondered if Kakashi would take Sakura's advice and if he did, whether it would work.

"What are they saying? I can't see anything!" Sakura whispered.

"I can't hear either. He's speaking very quietly to her, but he looks embarrassed," Sasuke replied. "She looks really uncomfortable now. Now they're laughing at something. I don't understand. Sakura? Sakura?"

The girl had stopped trying to see over him and had now simply leaned back against the wall, mouth curved into a happy smile. "I told him," she whispered to no one in particular. "I told him."

Neither of them were surprised when Kakashi came to the ramen bar the next day and sat next to Sakura. "She accepted my apology," he said in wonder. "And she even let me walk her out."

"It worked?" Naruto demanded in disbelief. "B-b-b-but Sakura-chan—"

"Is a woman, and I know how women act," Sakura said smugly.

"I… don't understand," Naruto muttered. "All those strategies were from Ero-sennin."

"Who was a _man_. Moreover, he was a man who had never been in a committed relationship his entire life, who had to _pay_ women to even approach him, and who spent his free time _disrespecting_ women_._ Yes, your role model is definitely the world's expert on women!" Sakura said sarcastically. Naruto still looked confused, but before she could lecture on, Kakashi interrupted.

"Maa, don't hold this over my head too long, Sakura. Okay, what do I need to do to win Shizune over?"

"Okay, so…" and she pulled him closer and began to whisper into his ear.

* * *

"Naruto-kun, why are we hiding behind some bushes?"

"…"

"Naruto-kun?"

"Because I lost Kakashi-sensei to Sakura-chan, and if I lose, we don't have to eat at Ichiraku for team meals anymore," he said sourly.

"Oh," Hinata trailed off quietly. "Ano, look! Sasuke-kun and Sakura are over there on top of that roof!—" She was forced to break off when Naruto lunged forward in an attempt to get at his rivals, prompting her to hold him (and his noisy temper tantrum) down and out of sight, "—I can see Kakashi-sensei!" she said urgently.

From her point above, Sakura watched with satisfaction as Kakashi led Shizune to the restaurant. The two adults were conversing animatedly, and she was happy to note the smile on Shizune's face.

Sasuke observed her gentle smile with curiosity. "Why are you so invested in Kakashi's love life?" he asked again.

And perhaps it was her heady triumph at the moment but she glanced over at him thoughtfully. "No one takes me seriously, because of how I was when I was younger. Among our friends at least, whenever someone has a romantic crisis, they always go to Ino. I just wanted to show them that I know what I'm doing. I always have."

Later that night, Sasuke lay in the dobe's spare guest room, pondering her explanation. The double meaning there was intentional, he was certain of it. However, a more pressing question consumed his mind: was she right?


	9. If It Were Easy

**Title: **If It Were Easy

**Summary:** Being a shinobi comes with its hazards. Sometimes you have to make choices and live with them.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** Bravery

**Warnings:** T for some violence

**Comments:** See after comments.

The mission was supposed to be simple. An eastern village had contracted them to investigate the recent attacks on the villagers, leaving the population decimated and dozens of people in the local clinic.

"Sakura, you're in charge," Tsunade said. "I want you to take Ino and Karin with you. Sasuke will act as your support while you're caring for the wounded and investigate further."

The village was two days from headquarters, and the group set out immediately upon getting their orders. They made good time the first day; that was one of the benefits of traveling by trees––there was hardly ever any traffic. It was well into night that Sakura called a halt to their progress for the day.

"We're more than half way there," she said after taking a long drag from her canteen. "We should be there by tomorrow noon. Ino take the first watch. Let's get some sleep."

* * *

Some time in the stillness of the night, Sakura woke with a jolt. Years of living on high alert had conditioned her body to stay alert even in the throes of sleep, and she knew immediately that something was very, very wrong. She made to turn on her other side, as if she were only trying to find a more comfortable position, and glanced around at her team. Sasuke was on watch, and by the way his hand rhythmically stroked along his katana's handle, she knew he was aware of the danger as well.

Very discreetly, she brought her hands together, waiting for the right moment…

A soft swish came from above, and she unleashed the jutsu. Sharp steel thunked against a log. Her displacement jutsu couldn't have been better timed. At the same time, the camp was suddenly in an uproar. Ino and Karin exploded into action as well, kunai glinting in the moonlight as they engaged their opponents.

She dodged her enemy's next swing, ducking under his guard and delivering a deadly blow to his solar plexus. The man collapsed clutching his side, and it was an easy matter to smash her elbow against the back of his neck, knocking him out cold.

Immediately, she jumped to assist Karin, the weakest combat on their team. Together, they disposed of the enemy in short order. Glancing around, she saw Ino wrapping up her fight.

"Sasuke! Where's Sasuke?" Karin suddenly cried out, searching the clearing wildly.

"Sasuke-kun?" A quick sweep of the area told Sakura enough to make the blood run cold; he was nowhere to be found.

"Looking for your friend?" a voice came from the trees above. A pair of disembodied eyes stared out from the foliage. Then one by one, more eyes were revealed.

"Formation!" Sakura barked out. The three girls stood back to back, waiting for the signal to attack.

"Ah, is that Haruno Sakura I see?" the same voice crooned. "The Godaime sent her own pupil. How interesting.

"Haruno Sakura, I warn you now! Cease and desist from your current path, and we will return your teammate unharmed. But should you choose to continue, we _will_ kill him."

The eyes shrank back into the shadows, leaving the trio alone.

"We need to go after them!" Karin announced immediately. "I can feel their chakra. It's headed due south of us. If we leave now, we can catch up to them within the hour."

"Yes! Let's go! We need to teach those bastards a lesson!" Ino said, hurrying to follow Karin.

"No."

Both women paused at Sakura's flat refusal. Her face was covered in shadows, but it was apparent to anyone that her fists were shaking. "No," she repeated, voice barely above a whisper. "We continue with the mission."

"_What?_" they cried in unison.

"Are you out of your mind? They're going to _kill_ him!"

"Sakura… He's your teammate, the love of your life! We can't just abandon him!"

"You––you call this _love_?" Karin demanded. "You've got a pretty sick definition if you're willing to let him _die_ for a mission!"

"If this is some kind of attempt to prove yourself, Sakura, don't––"

"You think this is easy for me?" Sakura burst out finally. "You think I want to leave Sasuke-kun behind to these scumbags? But let's face it; he's a capable shinobi. He can take care of himself. And this group of renegades has shown if nothing else tonight that whatever is taking place at that village is important enough for them to ambush and hold a shinobi hostage. There are hundreds of lives at stake here, and rather than running off to rescue one man, I… I choose to trust that he in his ability."

Her eyes bore into those of her subordinates, determination blazing bright.

"We continue to the village," she repeated coldly, jumping to the nearest tree. To her secret relief, she heard the other two follow her lead. Face set in grim lines, she bent her knees and leapt.

"Let's go."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Wahhh! I'm so sorry that this is late! OTL Life got in the way... T-T

But! I finally wrote this up! I know I don't use "Bravery" here, but I couldn't find a way of slipping it in without making it looked contrived.

The second half should be coming up tomorrow (fingers crossed) under Impulsive!

~dydshark


	10. Unplanned Tactics

**Title: **Unplanned Tactics

**Summary:** "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." –_To Kill a Mockingbird_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** Impulsive

**Warnings:** T

**Comments:** Continuation from the previous prompt (Bravery). There'll be a third part, coming tomorrow (hopefully)!

Well.

This was a predicament. His first opponent had been no match for Kusanagi—the match over before it'd begun. But by then, a swarm of enemies had been about to descend upon Sakura, kunai out and ready.

If only numbers mattered.

Sharingan whirring, Sasuke cut through the mass of bodies with an eerie grace. More leapt into the air, and several things became clear to Sasuke. Even in the moonlight, Sakura's iconic cropped hair and uniform was distinguishable. These shinobi seemed intent on her and only her, suggesting that their goal was to sabotage the mission. And lastly, his sharingan picked up many more chakra sources from beyond the foliage.

It took a split second, but Sasuke reacted impulsively. Later, he'd try to explain to a fuming Sakura that it'd been the most logical way to accomplish his role as the investigator _and_ to protect them. In reality, it'd been a gut feeling so strong, he couldn't ignore it.

He leapt to meet their onslaught. He saw the blow come from behind long before it hit, but this time, just this once, he let it through. Within seconds, he was bound and gagged, dragged back into the depths of the forest.

"Looking for your friend?" he heard faintly. "Ah, is that Haruno Sakura I see there? The Godaime sent her own pupil. How interesting.

"Haruno Sakura, I warn you now! Cease and desist from your current path, and we will return your teammate unharmed. But should you choose to continue, we _will_ kill him."

So, he was right. They were worried about Sakura.

Without another word, his captors were on the move, due south if his bearings were correct. Whoever these people were, they were handling him carefully enough, giving him ample time to plan…

* * *

They tossed him. _Him_, Uchiha Sasuke, was tossed to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he forced himself to stick to the plan. The minute he hit the ground, he performed a quick transformation jutsu, disappearing in a familiar puff of smoke.

"What? What's this? What's going on?" rang out around him. He almost smirked. Almost.

When the smoke cleared revealing his disguise, even further confusion spread.

"Ehhh?"

"Someone get the boss! Quick!"

"But we saw her! On the field! _What's going on?_"

The sound of quick footsteps echoed through the prison.

"Wha—" The man loomed over his subordinates. His head almost touched the door frame, and with his arms folded as they were, he filled the doorway. His most distinctive feature, however, was the scar running across his face.

For a moment, blank shock crossed his features, and then he threw his head back and laughed. "AHAHAHAHAHA! You're a clever one, Haruno Sakura—changing places with your little bodyguard is quite the tactic," he said, still chuckling. But then his expression darkened as he continued, "Too bad we saw through it."

"Ano… Please let me go," Sasuke implored. (Internally, he was retching at how pathetic he sounded.)

"Not a chance, little girl," the man said, leaning forward to examine him. "There's no way your little group is going to continue if you're our hostage."

How would Sakura act? How would Sakura act?

Just then, a wounded soldier dashed in, clutching his side. "Boss! The girls have decided to go to the village! They're leaving him behi—Ehh? That's the girl I saw leading them away!"

Immediately, the room erupted in chaos again, with half a dozen of its inhabitants pulling out kunai and aiming it directly at him.

Tch, as if they could actually hold him down.

But, this scout's latest report gave him an idea.

"That's just like Sasuke-kun," he moaned, hanging his head in dejection. "He doesn't value my skills. He probably thinks those other two bimbos can finish the mission without me."

Silence.

"Can they?" the boss asked.

Gotcha.

"No! Ino-chan and Karin-chan are too interested in flirting with Sasuke-kun, even though they both know he's _mine_!" he wailed. Inwardly, he cringed. If anyone found out how he acted today… he'd never live it down. Seriously though, all this over emoting was so taxing. How did she do this all the time? "They'll be completely useless to the village while you kill me and start an international war!"

That certainly got their attention. "No, no, we don't want a war," the boss said easily. "We're not planning on hurting you, Haruno-san. We just need to keep you out of the way for as long as possible. And if those two medics are as useless as you say they are, well, I don't see the need to interfere for now. Take our… guest away, and put those chakra draining chains on her. We all know of her impressive strength. Wouldn't want her breaking free any time, now would we?"

The chakra chains were a hassle, but Sasuke was more worried about other things right now.

_Sakura, it's up to you now._


	11. Like a Girl

**Title: **Like a Girl

**Summary: **By the end of his confinement, Sasuke really just wants everyone to see Sakura punch like a girl.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** A Night with No Stars

**Warnings:** T

**Comments:** Continuation from the previous prompt (Impulsive). Experimenting on subtlety.

The worst part, Sasuke decided, was that his restraints were so laughably weak. The chakra draining was troublesome, to borrow Shikamaru's catch phrase. They left him with enough chakra to maintain the jutsu and then some, but they were no where near strong enough to contain someone with as deep reserves as Sakura. They simply didn't work fast enough.

And yet, these _idiots_, treated him as if he was no longer a threat. In the three days that he'd been there, they'd posted a single guard to stand in front of his door. More often than not, the fool was playing cards with friends, sleeping, or even drinking.

How pathetic.

"Are you sure we can't turn her around? I'd like to see that famous ass just once."

"Nope, sorry. Boss's orders."

"Aww… Shinji, why'd you want to look at her rear when you can look at her boobs from this angle?"

"There's not much to speak of…"

"Ah, you're right."

Cue audible sigh of disappointment.

"Neh, how long do you think we're going to keep her here for?"

"Boss says we'll have dug to the mountain's core in a week. We've uncovered up almost everything already." Sasuke's ears twitched.

"Awesome! Can you imagine how much those—mmph!"

"Shh! Don't say anything in front of the prisoner, baka!"

"Sorry!"

"Hey… What are you going to do first after you get your share?"

"Hmm… I'm going to buy a big house in the fabric district!"

"I'm going to buy a ring for my girlfriend!"

"I'm going to…"

Sasuke tuned them out as he thought. So they were digging up a mountain, probably looking for rare metals or gems… And what did the file say about the village? –Ah, they were coal miners.

Well, that certainly explained the attacks as this crew began looking for the treasure. However, what Sasuke couldn't understand was why the Boss would go to such great lengths to keep the villagers away, and yet hire all these workers—

Every worker that had spoken thus far had a different accent. Different accents meant different regions, which in turn meant that if a number of them were to disappear at once, no one would be too suspicious.

So he planned to kill them.

Sasuke had done a lot of bad things in his life, and perhaps, in his darkest hours, he might've come to this revelation with apathy rather than the anger he felt now. These men, no matter how crude or simple minded they were, didn't deserve to die just because they agreed to perform a job.

Sasuke needed to warn Sakura and the others. The man had said a week, but who knew when the Boss would decide to act.

He waited until nightfall to move. "Ano, sir? I need to use the bathroom."

"Huh? Fine, fine. Be quick about it," the guard said gruffly.

"Sir? I can't use my hands with these chains on me," Sasuke said, trying to sound as helpless as possible.

The guard paused for a moment, assessing Sasuke in the growing darkness with a hard glare. "You won't try anything on me?" he finally asked cautiously.

"Oh no," Sasuke replied, eyes huge, green, and innocent. "And even if I wanted to, I'm too tired from these chakra absorbers to even throw a punch." (Perhaps being petite and cute had its perks after all.)

Grumbling, the big man lumbered towards Sasuke, unlocking the chains around his wrists. In that instant, Sasuke had swept the man's feet from other him. He landed with an _oomph!_ Sasuke gave him a blow to the neck, and he was out cold.

Amateur.

Coming out of the cell, Sasuke spotted Kusanagi almost immediately, hanging not five meters from the cell on a hook. The number of careless errors this bunch was committing was alarming, Sasuke thought with annoyance. Did they seriously discount Sakura's abilities so much?

It didn't take long for him to be spotted. (He mentally made a note to ask Sakura later how in the _world_ she managed to sneak around without being caught.) Shouts rang out. He didn't have the energy to subdue them quickly, so instead, he ran, following turn after turn as he tried to find his way out of the hideout. He could hear the clamor of men grabbing weapons, running, shouting, as the alarm was raised.

At one point, he found himself in a room full of dynamite. He crossed it quickly, before stopping in front of the next entrance. Not long after, men came tearing down the tunnel, only to skid to a halt just outside the room when they saw its contents.

Sasuke was almost out of chakra. Three days of near constant draining did that to a person, apparently. Dropping the disguise, the smoke had barely cleared when he cried,

"_Katon: Gōkakyū no jutsu!_"

The explosion was deafening. The entire base rocked dangerously as pieces of the stone ceiling gave way and fell to the ground with a thundering crash. The smoke blocked all the senses like a warm blanket. Immediately, Sasuke took his advantage and was out the ceiling and into the open air, running along the rooftop towards the trees.

It was a night with no stars, perfect for cloaking himself in inky darkness and moving quickly. Of course, the problem was, he had no idea where exactly he was moving quickly towards. A light bloomed some way in the distance, and he could barely make out the mini army of missing nin behind the boss. He came to an abrupt stop some meters away from them, eyeing them carefully.

"UCHIHA SASUKE!" the boss boomed out. "Come here to save your little medic friend I see. Finally realized that the healing down at the village couldn't be completed without her, huh? Well, I'm afraid we can't let you take her.

"Search the area! They must've split up," he barked.

Sasuke waited for the men to disappear before saying, "No, your prisoner was always me. Sakura has been down at the village helping its patients this entire time."

The boss boomed another loud laugh, never losing their relaxed pose. "Clever, clever, fooling us like that. But it makes no difference. You're of no use to us then, and you're weak from those chains," he said, grinning maniacally. "You may take down a few of my men, but you won't be able to take them all down, and from what I've heard, a _lot_ of them hold grudges on you."

Sasuke smirked.

"Oh, I don't plan on taking you down."

"Wha—"

He pointed just above the boss's head. "She will."

"SHANNARO!"


	12. Sweeter than Vengeance

**Title: **Sweeter than Vengeance

**Summary:** They say that a speech made in anger is the best worst speech you'll ever make.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** Silver Lining

**Warnings:** T

**Comments:** Continuation of the previous prompt (A Night with No Stars).

"He's twitching."

"Whoops, I must've missed a spot!" Sakura's foot connected with the defeated boss's already blue and purple stomach, causing the man to seize up again as he coughed up more blood.

"H-how is this possible?" he wheezed. "You were supposed to be helpless!"

"I don't know how many times I've gotten that comment before," she grumbled to herself. "Sasuke-kun, sit still. I can't very well assess the damage properly if you keep fidgeting."

Around them, the base was in complete shambles. A few well placed punches from Sakura had sent the whole place tumbling to the ground, and with it, all resistance from the inside. Small fires were scattered amongst the rubble, and clusters of men sought their warmth. The boss and a few of his close subordinates were not so lucky. Sakura was currently using the man's chest as a stepping stool to inspect Sasuke's wounds. She had a rather nasty habit of accidentally slipping every time she found a new injury and kicking the boss in the gut. As for the others, they were tied up not far off, where Ino was extracting as much information as possible.

They worked in comfortable silence. Sakura seemed too focused on her job at hand to notice that Sasuke was watching her as well, greedily taking in all her mannerisms. He supposed it was reasonable that after having impersonated her for so long and _knowing_ that he wasn't doing her justice, that he would pay more attention to her. Notice her more.

"Sasuke-kun," she said quietly. "You really shouldn't have done that. I was so worried—"

"SASUKE!" Karin tackled him, nearly knocking the wind out of him with the force of their contact. Beside him, Sakura lowered her hands in resignation. "Are you injured? Do you need to bite me? I swear if they touched a single hair on you…"

"He's fine, Karin," Sakura said shortly. "I just finished my examination."

"Like I believe _you_!" Karin scoffed. "_You_ were willing to leave poor Sasuke alone. If it hadn't been for the fact that I sensed his chakra spike, he'd be _dead_. Sasuke, did she tell you about that? Did she tell you how she was willing to leave you to the mercy of these bandits? What kind of teammate does that?"

"She made the right decision," he noted placidly. "Now get off of me, Karin."

"Why are you defending her?" Karin demanded, even as she clambered off reluctantly. "You're best friends with Naruto, the kid who won't shut up about precious teammates! Her conduct was completely uncalled for and endangered your life unnecessarily." Glancing maliciously at Sakura's back, she continued, "In fact, I'm going to report this incident to the Hokage. Haruno Sakura was obviously compromised by her desire to distance herself from her enamored former self."

"No way!" Ino protested, having joined them in time to hear Karin's accusation. "Sakura was acting on her best judgment!"

"It was suggested that she was not, by you yourself!" Karin argued triumphantly.

"How dare you—That was a hypothesis, made in _private_!"

"But it raises a good point! We can't rule that out, and so I _demand_ that Sakura be placed _off_ active duty and under on probation to be judged by a committee!"

Ino gaped in open outrage. Stalking towards Karin, who bravely held her ground, Ino launched into her tirade. "You IDIOT! You would try to ruin her career just to get to Sasuke-kun? How desperate are you, you little bi—"

"Ino, enough!" Sakura barked. Still not turning around, everyone's eyes pinpointed her shaking fists, which slowly calmed under their watchful gazes. "I'll face the report. Karin is correct in that the decision was a morally questionable one." She turned around then, to look Karin in the eyes hard. Her normally large, kind eyes had narrowed into pinpricks that bore into the other woman's soul. Sakura took a step forward. Karin took a step back. "But in my report, I will include a detailed account of your insubordination to the captain of the mission, your blatant disrespect for your teammates, and your inability to put aside your own personal feelings when the situation demanded it. In short, I will _conclude_ as a _judge_ to your future potential to reside in Konoha that your compatibility with our village is highly questionable and should be examined further."

Karin was, by this point, cowering away from Sakura such that the latter had to bend at the waist to make eye contact with her. "Do I make myself clear?" Sakura whispered.

Karin's refusal to look her in the eyes was answer enough.

"Glad to know we're on the same page."

Someone tapped Sasuke on the shoulder, pulling him away from the drama. He was surprised to see one of the workers smiling up at him. "Ah, Uchiha-san, the men and I were talking. Someone told us that the bastard over there was going to kill us. You saved our lives." And then to Sasuke's astonishment, the man bowed deeply, presenting something that glittered in the firelight. "Thank you. This is for you; it's a small share of the silver we were each allotted."

Suddenly, Sasuke was surrounded by men, each one fighting to get a chance to touch their hero, thank him, give him their token of thanks.

Sakura watched on for a moment, a soft smile spreading across her face. She took in his tensed shoulders, the his knitted brows as he tried to find what to say, and finally the jut of his lip, almost like a pout.

"Neh, Karin," she said. "You care about Sasuke-kun too, right? And perhaps there was a better choice to be made, but it wouldn't quite have this outcome, would it?

"I'm not going to report you," she continued, eyes gazing upwards at the sky. "Not when you were just worried about the boy you loved. I guess… That wouldn't really be representative of this silver lining.

"Don't you think?"


	13. A Matter of Ignorance

**Title: **A Matter of Ignorance

**Summary:** Taking a plunge into the deep end has its risks. But sometimes, those risks have big payoffs.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** Drowning

**Warnings:** K+ (for the use of a single swear word)

**Comments:** Ending inspired by a Chinese movie… Don't remember the name, but the scene was absolutely adorable. OTL

Surprisingly, Sakura's last thoughts were in no way related to Sasuke-kun. Or, perhaps they were, because really, she was quite bitter about this whole drowning thing and the fact that it didn't afford her an opportunity to contemplate her still undefined relationship with Sasuke-kun.

Instead, here she was, being dragged to the bottom of the lake, and all she could think about was how tragic it was that pockets of ignorance still existed in this world.

Seriously, who accuses a medic of witchcraft anymore?

Sakura had lost count of the time she'd been under, but her lungs were burning, her head pounded, and she fought desperately to keep what little air she had left in. Still, the small trail of bubbles marking her descent was not promising.

She was going to die, all because some backwards villagers saw her extract poison from a sick young man and believed she was summoning demons.

She snorted, only to realize that the move had just depleted her air by 25%.

Well, shit.

This wasn't supposed to happen! Oh, the possibility that she might die had presented itself countless of times throughout her life. It came with being a kunoichi, but she had always expected herself to go out with a bang, taking down as many enemies as she could for some noble cause or something. And she'd even had her perfect "last thought," as shallow as it sounded: "Wait for me, Sasuke-kun." But instead, as the heavy stones dragged her further down, as her lungs gave up and released her final breath, as the darkness began to blanket her vision, and as something long wrapped around her numbed torso, all she could think was, "Those damn villagers."

Someone was yelling her name obnoxiously. And there was an irritating, rhythmic pressure being applied to her chest. But when she opened her mouth to tell her two idiots to knock it off, her lungs screamed in protest. Water gushed out in place of words, and she coughed violently, spitting out more water. Her lungs still burned, and she took in great gulps of air, soothing them.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" She flinched, preparing herself for the tackle that never came. When she finally looked up, her eyes widened to see Naruto restrained by a pair of large snakes. Her eyes swept the area until they landed on the pair's summoner. Sasuke was kneeling next to her, eyes examining her intently.

"Sasuke-kun," she rasped. "Naruto is turning purple."

"Hn." He flicked his hand, and the snakes relented slightly.

"Oi oi oi! Ya know! Bastard, let me go!" Naruto protested immediately.

"Not if you're going to attack Sakura."

"I wasn't going to attack Sakura-chan, ya know!"

"Yes you were."

"No I wasn't!"

"Yes you were."

"_No_, I wasn't!"

"Calm down first, Dobe, then I'll let you go."

"Teme," Naruto growled, but he calmed, muscles relaxing against the snakes' coils.

"Wh-what happened?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto sensed you were in trouble through his sage mode when the villagers threw you into the water," Sasuke deadpanned. "By the time we arrived, you were too far away for us to reach you, so I summoned two snakes to get you."

Could it have been less romantic? Sakura bemoaned in her mind. Aloud, she said, "Th-thank you, Sasuke-kun, Naruto."

"Why were those villagers after you anyway, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke shot back. Sakura squeaked when she felt something heavy wrap around her. It was Sasuke's cloak, and _Sasuke_ had his arms around her as he adjusted the buttons. "She's freezing. We need to get a move on it. Sakura, climb onto my back. That way we can move faster."

Stunned, by her recent near drowning or by this new Sasuke-kun Sakura wasn't sure, she followed his instructions mechanically, looping her arms around his neck before latching onto his waist with her legs.

"Oi, why do you get to give Sakura-chan a piggy-back ride?" she heard Naruto ask.

"Tch, shut up dobe."

Sasuke was nice and warm though, and his back, though hard and wiry, was infinitely more comfortable than the ground. She found a slight dip where his neck and shoulder met and rest her head there, listening to his even heartbeat. It soothed her jittery nerves.

He was so comfortable, and she loved him _so_ much in that moment. She wanted to savor it and never let go.

"Oi, Sakura," he said quietly a little while later. "Are you strong enough to stand on your own?"

She shook her head, a silly, impish grin spreading across her face, and tightened her limbs around him. She was glad he couldn't see her face right now, or else he'd drop her instantly.

But really, it's too bad she couldn't see _his_ face, because she would've blushed to see the smirk that crossed it at her silent no.


	14. Speculation

**Title: ** Speculation

**Summary:** Didn't you know? Even emotionless boys gossip too.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** His side of the story

**Warnings:** Mild swearing (one word)

**Comments: **What is dating. Actually. Contains ShikaTema because they're adorable.

It was Konoha's best kept secret: that once every month, eight of its finest shinobis met to talk about girls. One might call it a support group of sorts; every time Kiba got a new girlfriend, Lee was thoroughly beaten by another love interest, or Naruto needed help, the men would convene and offer support or congratulations and even on occasion, advice.

"Hey, how're the talks with Suna going, Shikamaru?" someone asked one night as they sat around the bar.

"Eh, how troublesome," he grumbled. "He's being surprisingly overprotective."

"There does not appear to be any reason for the surprise," Shino intoned. "Temari-san is the elder sister of Sunagakure, and you are the Head Strategist of Konohagakure. A relationship between the two of you could potentially lead to marriage, which may have disastrous consequences in the future should Sunagakure and Konohagakure ever go to war."

"Thanks for pointing that out," Shikamaru muttered. "Troublesome."

"It's okay! That'll never happen as long as Gaara and me are Kage, ya know!" Naruto chipped in, giving Shikamaru a thumbs up.

"Baka, you don't know that, as troublesome as it is," he said, but his lips curved into a slight smile. "But, I think for once I'll stop thinking so hard and believe that everything will work out."

"Have you asked her out yet?"

Shikamaru nearly choked on his beer. "Eh, not yet. Troublesome. I wanted to get her brothers' approval first."

"Ah…" Everyone lapsed into silence; Shikamaru was the only _real_ point of drama at the moment…

"Oh, that's right! I forgot to tell you guys!" Naruto suddenly said, grinning madly. "Sasuke went on a date with Sakura."

"WHAT?" Half the table fell off their chairs.

"Aa," Sasuke replied easily, taking a sip from his sake.

Well there went the other half of the table.

Naruto cackled gleefully as their friends picked themselves back up, mouths still frozen in a gape of disbelief. "Bastard finally got up the courage to ask her."

"Wha—Baka, that's not the type of thing you forget to tell us about!" Kiba yelled, bonking Naruto on the head.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR, YA KNOW?" Naruto yelled, tears springing to his eyes.

"YOU MORON! YOU DON'T JUST SPRING THAT KIND OF NEWS ON US!" Kiba yelled right back.

"WELL, I'M GONNA TO TELL HINATA!"

Kiba's face visibly paled. "W-wait, Naruto! Don't do that! Ah, I'm sorry, okay?"

"When did this happen?" Shino asked, turning everyone's attention away from the two idiots. (Naruto was now stubbornly pouting while Kiba was practically on his knees.)

"A few nights ago," Sasuke replied tersely.

"Where'd you take her?"

"How did you ask?"

"Did you kiss her?"

"MY YOUTHFUL CHERRY BLOSSOM!" All eyes flicked to Rock Lee, who sat in the corner, tears streaming down his cheeks, fist clutched to his chest. All eyes flicked away.

"I knew she finished working at around 5:30, so I waited in the lobby for her to come down. When she arrived, I asked her to eat with me, and she said yes. We went to a sushi bar. I paid, then walked her home."

"Wow…" came the collective tone of awe. And then the congratulations began pouring in:

"Hey, that's great, man!"

"Way to go!"

"Fucking finally."

"Tch, took you long enough."

"Waitwaitwait," Kiba interrupted, halting everyone in their tracks. Apparently, he and Naruto had resolved their differences because Naruto was listening just as wraptly. "The most _important_ question is, _are you going on a second date_?"

Silence.

"Hm, that's true, I forgot about that."

"Yeah, I mean, a first date is great, but ultimately, it doesn't mean anything unless there's a second one."

"Guys, come _on_. This is Sakura we're talking about—you know, the girl who's been in love with Sasuke all her life? Of _course_ she's going to say yes. Why are we stressing him out for?"

"You know, that's not necessarily true! She's gotten spunkier lately. What if she decides to reject him to prove her independence?"

"Now, that's just stupid—"

"Yeah, or maybe she went on this date with him, and realized that—well—he wasn't what she was expecting. You know, that happens sometimes."

"Ugly is certainly known for deluding herself."

All around him, his friends bickered back and forth, analyzing and reanalyzing the actions of a girl told to them second hand. Sometimes they would ask for clarification or an elaboration, but for the most part, they were happy to surmise to their heart's content. One thing was glaringly certain to Sasuke though:

It might have been hard asking her out the first time, but it seemed that doing it a second time would be infinitely more nerve-wracking.

Uchiha Sasuke had never been so scared in his life.


	15. That Awkward In-Between

**Title: ** That Awkward In-Between

**Summary:** Exactly what constitutes dating? Sakura isn't sure she likes the answer.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** Her side of the story

**Warnings:**

**Comments:** What is dating. Actually, though. This is such a problem irl. Also, Tenten is one of my favorite characters. Hence, she gets the last word.

"Ino's late," Sakura grumbled, as she stirred her drink. "Ino's never late."

"Maa, be patient, Sakura," Tenten said appeasingly. "I'm sure she has a good reason."

"Not good enough. We've been planning this for mooooonths," Sakura wailed.

"Ano, she seemed really excited when I ran into her earlier today," Hinata noted quietly.

"There you go! She's probably met a—"

"HARUNO SAKURA WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME YOU WERE DATING SASUKE-KUN?" Ino bellowed as she flung to door to the restaurant open, scaring most of the other customers.

"You are?" Tenten and Hinata demanded in unison, jaws dropping to the ground.

Sakura blinked. "I am?"

"How can she not know," Tenten bemoaned to herself.

"Yes! I saw the two of you at that fancy sushi bar last night!" Ino gushed, pulling up a chair agitatedly. "And you-you were _giggling_ at something he said, and he was smirking and _talking_—IT WAS THE MOST ADORABLE THING I'VE EVER SEEN! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!"

"Oh that? It was just dinner between two friends, Ino," Sakura said nonchalantly.

"LIAR! YOU'RE BLUSHING!"

"WELL OF COURSE I AM WHEN YOU'RE MAKING A HUGE FUSS ABOUT THIS!" Sakura retorted, finally losing patience. The two women glared at each other. Ino was breathing hard; not confronting Sakura immediately was taking its toll on her, and she refused to leave without answers.

"For the last time, I am _not_ dating Sasuke-kun," Sakura said through gritted teeth.

Ino glared for a moment longer before straightening. "Fine. Was it just the two of you?"

"Yes."

"Did he pay?"

"…Yes."

"Did he walk you home?"

"Not right away, we walked around for a bit."

"Then it's a date!" Ino said exasperatedly. "Honestly, I don't understand you sometimes, Sakura."

"_No_, it's not! We've had one-on-one dinners before that have been just that: dinners! And this last time, the _only_ reason we were alone was because apparently Naruto bailed at the last minute," Sakura said testily.

"That's not true," Hinata asserted. "Naruto-kun came to my house late that night complaining that he couldn't find either of you to go and eat."

There was a brief pause as the information sunk in.

"Uchiha, you sly dog," Tenten muttered.

"Wha-but…"

"There! I was right!" Ino said triumphantly. "Now, admit it baka. It was a date."

"Took you guys long enough," Tenten sighed dramatically. "Does this mean the end of the sexual tension at every reunion?"

"No… Guys stop. This doesn't mean anything," Sakura protested.

"Why not?" Ino demanded. "_Everything_ about this date _sounds_ like a date!"

"It's not a date because he never said it was a date! And I don't want to have my hopes crushed! You don't think I was thinking about how date-like it was the entire time? You don't think it made me smile when he paid for my dinner? I just—" she paused, overcome with emotion, "—I just don't want to get my hopes up."

"Oh Sakura…" Ino began sympathetically. She wrapped an arm around her friend consolingly. "I know it's scary to believe… but for once, it seems the only way you can interpret this _is_ as a date."

"That's not necessarily true," Sakura mumbled. "What if I assume we're dating, and then find him on a date with someone else? Does that make me wrong or him?"

"Mou, you ask too many hard questions!" Ino pouted, dropping her arm in annoyance.

"Exactly why I can't call this a date!"

All four girls sighed, and for a long moment, silence reigned.

Suddenly, Tenten seemed to realize something because she let out a wail of dismay. "Aiyah! This means the sexual tension won't be gone!"


	16. Limitless

**Title: ** Limitless

**Summary:** An escort mission with an eccentric was the last thing Sakura thought would cement her resolve.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** Indestructible

**Warnings:** Lots of talking. OTL please bear with me!

**Comments: **So I hate the ending, but this is about a week overdue, and I don't know what else to write for this prompt. My OC is inspired by FMA: Brotherhood. Aasdjfoisdfj go watch it. I just finished, and my heart hasn't recovered yet.

Wakahisa Maiko was possibly the most famous woman after Tsunade and Sakura in the shinobi world. Though not a kunoichi, she was a weapons designer—one of the best there was. She was known for busting out of a prison camp with nothing but her bed sheets, an earring, and a hammer. (Since then, Tsunade had kept her within Konoha walls at all times.)

She was also known for wearing very little clothing when she was fine tuning her creations and though she was no beauty, being a mechanic leant itself to well defined musculature, leading men to gape openly as she poured over her instruments in a strapless bra and capris.

But above all, Wakahisa Maiko was famous for being eccentric. She never left her workshop without a hammer, and she could pull a prank rivaling Naruto's in grandeur and completely dwarfing his in cunning. The last time Tsunade tried to cut her funding, the Hokage tower mysteriously found itself in a real estate magazine, described as having "a spectacular view of the city, with plenty of space for you, your kids, and all your distant relatives! Even those you don't even know!" (The price just so happened to be the same amount to be cut from Wakahisa's funding.) That day, the employees of the tower were perplexed and bemused to see tour groups walking through the building while a tour guide who looked suspiciously like Wakahisa led them around.

Thus, Team Seven was a little surprised, a little wary, and a little excited when they saw her standing next to Tsunade as they reported for a mission.

"Maiko-san is getting married," Tsunade said briskly. "Her fiancé is a shinobi posted in one of the outskirt villages in the Fire nation, and they've decided to get married there. You are to act as her bodyguards. This is an A ranked mission. I expect all of you to take this seriously. The last time she left this village, she was kidnapped. Make sure that doesn't happen this time."

"Hai!"

"Maiko-san, please hurry this way," Sakura said, urging the woman forward.

"You guys are no fun," Maiko complained, stretching her arms. Sakura was glad that the engineer had at least put on more clothes. She wore loose cargo pants, a tank top, and of course, her iconic black bandana over her messy brown hair. "Can't I be allowed to enjoy the fresh air for a moment? I've been stuck in that stuffy village for ten years! Who would've thought getting married would finally allow me to be free!"

"Ano sa, ano sa! Maiko-san, how did you manage to put the Hokage Tower up for sale?" Naruto asked eagerly. He cackled evilly to himself. "Cuz that would be the perfect blackmailing tool for next time Hiashi-sama says no—"

"Sorry pipsqueak," Maiko cut him off with finality, "trade secret. I can't have everyone copying me, now can I? Then it wouldn't be so effective."

Naruto wilted. "But it's so perfect, ya know."

In the front, Sasuke snorted. "That's the point, dobe."

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Naruto shot back immediately. "Why're you butting in on our conversation?"

"With that loud mouth of yours, you're practically inviting anyone within earshot to participate."

"Well, you're always welcome to scout _out_ of earshot, ya know!"

"That defeats the purpose of a team, _dobe_."

Sakura coughed, embarrassed. "You'll have to excuse them," she said apologetically. "They really are quite powerful, but the banter helps them release some of the tension from the mission."

Maiko, who'd been observing the two boys with a glint in her eye, only smirked lightly. "Indeed."

Naruto stirred, hand slipping easily to his weapons pouch, at the shuffle of footsteps. When only Maiko emerged from the shadows, he relaxed. She settled herself next to him, tilting her head against the tree to look at the stars.

"I love nights like this," she commented. "It's so calm and the stars are winking down at us…"

"Maiko-san, you should go to sleep," Naruto said quietly. "We have a long day ahead of us."

"I'm fine," Maiko said, waving his concern off. "I pull all-nighters all the time. You get used to it. Besides, tonight is far too beautiful… Nights like these remind me of my fiancé."

"What's he like?" he asked, curious.

Maiko barked a laugh. "The most infuriating man alive. If I had the skill to kill him, I would."

Naruto cringed at how sincere she sounded. "Then why are you marrying him?"

"Because we've been through hell together," she said quietly. _That_ got Naruto's attention. He waited for her to continue. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them loosely, all the while looking up at the sky. "We were best friends as kids. We did everything together. We even enrolled under the same engineer as apprentices. As a team, we shot up the ranks, designing bigger, better machinery at impossible rates. In our final stage, we were set to design an indestructible piece of armor. We spent years designing, testing, redesigning, retesting until we had it _almost_ perfect.

"At that point, Kai wanted to call it done. There was only a few glitches to the armor, and he argued that none of the situations that might exploit those weaknesses would ever arise. I disagreed, and we got into a huge argument. So, without my argument or approval, he presented our work to our sensei, claiming all the credit for it. I was disgraced for "riding on the ability of another," while he rocketed to fame.

"The armor did its job for a long time. Our death tolls dropped drastically, and the government mass ordered it for all its shinobi. But all it took, was for one enemy to find the chink, and everything went to pieces as it was bound to. And once that happened, we started losing badly. Kai was stripped of all recognition and sentenced to prison for ten years."

"That's…wow. That's really terrible," Naruto murmured.

"Yeah. When he finally got out, I refused to have anything to do with him. He had indirectly brought about the death of so many of our countrymen, some of our friends too, but most of all, I couldn't forgive him for betraying _me_," she said sadly.

"And yet you're marrying him?"

"The one lesson I took away from that project was this: nothing is indestructible. I've returned to that design again and again, pouring over our designs, tweaking it here or there. But I've found that when I solve one problem, another crops up. That's when I realized that indestructibility is just a dream. Humans are always progressing forward, and what may be novel today will easily be surpassed tomorrow. My philosophy when I design now is centered around this idea. I don't believe in just building the best weapons, equipment, and whatever you need. I always want to build better than the best. And I think, that same philosophy applies to relationships.

"Our friendship was completely, utterly destroyed after what happened. It took years and years for me to trust him again. He constantly needed to reprove his sincerity. But what we built from there—it is so much better than what we had before. And I guess… I guess that's why I'm marrying him."

"I don't know about that last part," Naruto disagreed. "The three of us have been through some pretty hard times too, and we managed to pull through just fine!"

"That's not even true," Maiko scoffed. "Just think of your two teammates. _Your_ relationship with the two of them individually might not have changed very much, but those two—well, even _I_ have heard the rumors about them: the slowest couple to ever form, the two blind idiots, and whatever other dumb shit people come up with. People don't realize that those two aren't continuing from where they left off. They're starting over again, and how they decide to proceed will shape your relationship with them. Just keep that in mind."

Naruto had no response to that, so the two of them sat in silence, watching the night sky.

When Naruto went to wake up Sasuke for his watch, he paused once he was near enough to see in the darkness; although a respectful distance away from one another, each had a hand stretched out across the void, just shy of touching.


	17. Ice Cream Smears

**Title: ** Ice Cream Smears

**Summary:** Lost precocious boys are the cutest. Perhaps even cute enough to win over Sakura.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** Monster

**Warnings: ** None

**Comments:** Happy Birthday Sasuke! Lol, so I was planning on connecting this to the previous one, but I couldn't come up with any good ideas. Hence, why you get this ultra fluffy chapter. Someone asked if my prompts were still connected—yes, they are! Consider them in the same universe, just moments in their lives as they build up their relationship!

"Oops."

Sasuke glanced down at his now sticky, blue-stained shirt and then at the little midget he'd just run into. The boy giggled good-naturedly, as he tried to wipe off (smear) his ice cream from Sasuke's shirt.

"Sorry 'bout that, mister!"

Sasuke chose to ignore the boy and continued on his way. At least, he'd been headed home before anyways.

The pitter-patter sound of small feet following him made his eye twitch. A glance behind him confirmed that the boy was now following him. "What do you want?" he grunted.

"Well, I'm lost," the boy said cheerfully, licking his blue abomination with an even bluer tongue. "And Kaa-san always said if that happened, I should get help from a shinobi. You're a shinobi, right? You have to be! You look so cool."

Sasuke was left at a loss for words. He settled for snorting in annoyance.

"Fine, let's go," he said shortly, switching directions to head towards Ichiraku.

"Yay!"

Much to Sasuke's annoyance, the boy didn't stop talking the entire way there. He learned that the kid's name was Seiji and that he was eight and he wanted to be the most powerful shinobi ever like Naruto-sama! (Sasuke bit his tongue rather hard.)

"Sakura."

Naruto and Sakura looked up from her bowl of noodles. "Hm? Oh, hi Sasuke-kun—Kami, what happened to your shirt?"

"Teme, how come you greet Sakura-chan and not me, ya—"

"I need you to find this kid's mom," Sasuke bit out.

Sakura blinked. "Huh?" She leaned back in her stool slightly to look past Sasuke. Sure enough, Seiji peeked out shyly from behind Sasuke's legs, clutching the older man's pants in his small hands.

"Is that Uzumaki Naruto-sama?" he gasped.

"Tch, don't call him that," Sasuke griped. "It'll go to his head."

"Ne, ne, Sasuke-sama," Seiji began, tugging on Sasuke's shirt. "Are you guys teammates?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Woah," the boy breathed, eyes round and large with wonder.

"Who's this, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked as she knelt in front of Seiji, prompting the boy to shift further behind Sasuke.

"Seiji," he grunted. "He ran into me on my way home."

"That would explain the blue stain," she teased lightly.

"Hn."

"Sasuke-sama? Is that you're other teammate?" Seiji asked.

Sasuke observed him for a moment before saying, "Aa."

"She's pretty," he whispered.

Immediately a blush bloomed across Sakura's face. Naruto roared with laughter from his seat at the bar.

"Looks like Sasuke's got competition from an eight-year old!" he chortled.

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed, annoyed. "He says he can't find his Kaa-san."

"Oh, well we can't have that, can we?" Sakura said, gently coaxing the boy to take her hand. "C'mon, I'm going to take you to the police office. They should be able to pull up your file from their system."

But as Sakura made to lead him away, the boy resisted. "Where's Sasuke-sama going?"

"He has to go and change his shirt," she explained. "Remember? It's all dirty right now!"

"Oh… Can't we go with him and _then_ go to the police station?" Seiji pouted. "I want Sasuke-sama to come!"

Seeing that the boy was quite set on dragging him along, Sasuke resigned himself to walking around town in a sullied shirt as he came up to walk on Seiji's other side. Squealing with delight, the boy instantly grabbed his hand, swinging it in synch with Sakura's hand.

"Naruto! Are you coming?" Sakura called over her shoulder.

He contemplated it for a moment, but then glanced at her and Sasuke's interlaced hands with the boy. "Nah, I wouldn't want to interrupt anything. And besides, I have a date with Hinata-chan later!"

"Suit yourself!"

Together, Sasuke, Sakura, and Seiji made their way in the growing dusk to the police station. Seiji was very energetic, always talking about his friends or his dreams. Both Sasuke and Sakura noted, however, that he never spoke of his home.

"Seiji-kun, when did you last see your Kaa-san?" Sakura finally asked.

"Mmm… In the marketplace, after she got me the ice cream," he said, face screwed up as he thought.

"And how did you get separated from her?"

"I ran away," he said simply. "It wasn't hard. Kaa-san is always focused on Onē-san. She's gonna be a chunin soon, and she's only thirteen! But I'm normal, so Kaa-san doesn't spend any time training me."

His shoulders slumped, eyes downcast. It was a pose all to familiar to Sasuke.

"Then get stronger," he inserted. "Train until she notices you. Don't go running off like that. It's pointless."

Immediately, Seiji straightened, and his eyes lit up. "Okay, Sasuke-sama! I will!"

They stopped at a street vendor some time later to buy drinks. As the man handed their beverages out, he commented, "My, my, what a lovely thing to see such a young family out on a night like this."

Sakura blushed and immediately made to rectify him. "Oh, we're not—"

"Thanks," Sasuke grunted, cutting her off. He paid for the drinks too, much to Sakura's annoyance.

"Sasuke-kun, I was just about to pay for that!" she complained.

"What kind of husband would I be if I let you do that?" he shot back. She stopped in her tracks, mouth agape with surprise. It was only after she saw the glint in his eyes that she realized he was teasing her.

"Mou, Sasuke-kun, why are you so mean?"

At the station, they were quickly ushered to an available officer. It helped that the boy had been accompanied by two of three fearsome members of team seven. In no time, they were knocking on a plain door. A young woman opened it anxiously, and the moment she saw Seiji, she enveloped him in a hug.

"Seiji! Don't you ever do that again!" she scolded, though the bite in her words was dampened by how tightly she held him.

"Okay, Kaa-san," he giggled, trying to wrestle out of her grasp. "I wanna introduce my new friends." He pointed to Sakura, then Sasuke. "This is Sakura-sama, and this is Sasuke-sama. He's an Uchi-uchiha, but he promised me he's not gonna hide under my bed like a monster."

Sakura stiffened beside him, but Sasuke ignored it.

"Your son is a very good boy, ma'am," he said quietly. "He's very smart, and I'm certain he will do well at whatever he tries. Have a nice night."

With that, he turned on his heels and walked away.

"Wait!" Seiji ran after him, wrapping his short arms around Sasuke's torso. "Thanks for everything, Sasuke-sama."

"Aa."

Seiji reluctantly let go of Sasuke and made his way back to his mother. Just as the door was about to close, Sasuke called out, "Seiji."

"Yes, Sasuke-sama?" the boy answered.

"When you graduate from the Academy… I'll put in a word with the Hokage to be your teacher."

Never had a smile so wide or so genuine spread across Seiji's lips.

"Thank you, Sasuke-sensei!"

* * *

"Sasuke-sensei, huh?" she commented softly.

"Hn. He's a good kid," he grunted.

"Yeah… I never would've pegged you for a kids' person, Sasuke-kun," she teased. "You did a great job handling him today."

They walked on further in silence before Sakura spoke again. "When did he ask you about monsters?"

"Before we got to the ramen stand. I told him I was an Uchiha, and he asked if I really hid in closets or under beds to scare people. I told him that was a stupid notion concocted by half-witted fools."

"… I see," Sakura said, nonplussed by his attitude.

Later that night, Sakura fell asleep with a smile on her face and the knowledge that Sasuke, whenever he should decide to have kids, would be a great father.


	18. Catalyst

**Title: ** Catalyst

**Summary:** A catalyst is a "substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent change" (Google). Well, everyone knows the chemistry between Sasuke and Sakura is definitely in need of a catalyst.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:** Dropping your Guard

**Warnings:** None.

**Comments:** This is my second-to-last submission for Sasusaku month! I've gotten busy recently, and it's been eating up my prompt-writing time/brainstorming time. Moreover, this series has been taking away from some of my other writing projects like Challenge Accepted, which really should've been done by now OTL. On the bright side, my other upcoming project is a Sasusaku fic that I'm really excited to start writing! Anyways, stay tuned for one last prompt!

Also, happy birthday Sasuke! It's technically past his birthday now where I am, but hey, it's July 23rd somewhere, right (*insert smug smirk*)?

* * *

"Neh, did you hear? A new lady is trying to court Uchiha-san!"

Around the corner, Sakura almost dropped her case file. She froze midstride, heart plummeting at a sickening speed.

"A new one… you mean another storekeeper's daughter?" another voice chimed in.

"No, this one is foreign. Like from a different country foreign. Rumor has it, she's an up and coming politician in former Otogakure, and she needs some _arm candy_ to win her votes," the first voice said.

Someone giggled. "Well then she definitely chose the right man! Every girl would vote for him in an instant!"

The nurses station erupted in laughter while outside, Sakura tried to still her shaking hands. She pressed herself further into the wall, thankful that no one was in the halls at the moment.

"There's just one problem with Diplomat-sama's plan," one nurse piped up. "She's not Sakura-sama. Everyone knows Uchiha-san has a thing for Sakura-sama. Those two are practically dating."

"_Practically_, but not _actually_. There's a difference. Who knows? Maybe he'll like her enough to give it a shot!"

Murmurs of agreement ran through the room.

"Has anyone actually met her?" someone finally asked.

"I did! She was touring the hospital to see how we operated! She mentioned wanting to emulate our system!" Immediately, the girl was bombarded by questions.

"Miko-chan, you've been holding out on us!"

"Neh, Miko-chan, spill the beans! What was she like?"

"Tell us!"

"Tell us!"

"Pleaaase?"

"Calm down," Miko placated. "She was very nice and very respectful! And she is very beautiful too! Straight, long, black hair and very intelligent eyes. I showed her around the neurology department, and she was really impressed by our efficiency! She asked a lot of questions about our protocol and organization."

"The _real_ question is whether she's a good match for Uchiha-san," someone interjected.

"Definitely not," another nurse snorted. Sakura recognized her nurse's voice, Saeri, a middle aged and fiercely loyal woman. "I had to show her around the cardiology department, which is obviously Sakura-sama's department."

"And?" came the collective and breathless prompt.

"She's a fake," Saeri said flatly. "The entire visit, she made veiled jabs at Sakura-sama, questioning her competence as a doctor." The entire room gasped in indignation. "I reminded her as politely as I could that Sakura-sama was second only to Tsunade-sama. So then, Diplomat-san tried to suggest that her medical background often interfered with her abilities as a kunoichi." More cries of outrage from the nurses. "So I told her that Sakura-_sama_ was known for giving doubters a personal demonstration of her fighting abilities."

"HA! How did Diplomat-san take _that_?" someone yelled.

"Her face turned a pearly white," Saeri replied, her smug smirk evident in her voice. Cheers rang out among the nurses. Sakura smiled at her nurses' loyalty and wiped away the tears that had begun to fall.

"You know what, our Sakura-sama can take this woman on anytime!"

"Yeah! No one deserves Uchiha-san more than Sakura-sama! She's worked so hard to win him over, there's no way she can lose against a bitch from Otogakure!"

"Yeah!"

"Definitely!"

"Sakura-sama's the best! She's beautiful and smart and strong and hard working!"

"Ladies!" Saeri's voice rang out above the clamor. "We're going to redouble our efforts to get Uchiha-san and Sakura-sama together!"

"Hai!"

"No doctor besides Sakura-sama will tend to Uchiha-san's wounds!"

"Hai!"

"Uchi—"

Collecting herself, Sakura walked into the room with a radiant smile. "That won't be necessary, Saeri-san."

For a split second, the nurses froze, eyes bugged out at the sight of their superior and object of their discussion. And then, chaos reigned as the women scrambled to pack their lunches, bowing in apology, while hurriedly readjusting their scrubs.

"Thank you, everyone," Sakura said, bowing deeply.

For the second time in as many minutes, everyone stilled.

"I… appreciate your support and confidence in me," Sakura said slowly. "But this—this is something I must do on my own. I will fight my own battles."

Saeri was the first to recover. She relaxed and smiled. "Good luck, Sakura-sama."

Trailed by more well wishes, Sakura exited the station with renewed resolve. She'd thought that keeping her distance would save her from heartache, that never having was better than experiencing only once. But that scare—the idea almost turned into a reality that he might someday fall in love with another woman—had hurt infinitely more. She'd dropped her guard, assuming that Sasuke would always be free. Evidently, that wasn't the case. So she would try. And she would win. Because when it came to Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura knew no limits.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Kitsune asked.

Sasuke didn't even spare her a glance. "Aa. I'm not interested. Too bad you had to waste a trip here to find out."

Her stride never faltered. "I don't think so. I learned some very valuable things about Konoha," she said lightly, lips curling upward. "And you. I learned some _very_ valuable lessons about you."

"Your first mistake, Kitsune, was assuming I'm stupid just because I'm a shinobi," Sasuke said in a bored tone as he stopped at the gates of Konoha. "Your second was to assume that my weaknesses were ones you could begin to tackle. I told you repeatedly before you visited that Sakura is not a force to be trifled with."

"Shame," she drawled as she and her bodyguards turned to bid one last farewell. "We would have been perfect together, and if I recall, you were always a pursuer of perfection."

And with that, she sauntered off. Sasuke waited for her to disappear from his view of the path before he answered her.

"Maybe so. But I'd like to think Sakura and my 'perfect' is a work in progress."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Thanks everyone for letting me know about the glitch! OTL

Uhh I had a proper author's note before, but it was deleted. Let's see, I think I just wanted to say that what Sasuke implied was that Kitsune (meaning Fox in Japanese) had contacted him from Oto, but when he didn't express any interest, she thought coming to Konoha would 1-improve her appeal and 2-be an excuse to challenge his real love interest, Sakura.


	19. Work in Progress

**Title: **Work in Progress

**Summary: **Years of secret smiles, misunderstandings, and sexual tension leads to Sakura's most unique way of asking Sasuke out yet.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto.

**Prompt:**Rusty

**Warnings:**None.

**Comments:** Last one! Ahahahaha isn't my title ironic? Isn't it? (Please excuse my mood. I'm a little giddy right now because this is the first prompt I've really really enjoyed writing for a while.) The real author's note will come at the end, because I can't spoil anything here. T-T

Some days, Sakura loved her job.

Today was not one of those days. Chased by rogue nin through Amegakure, where it always _rained_ and was mostly _flat_ and _treeless_, consisted of putting one soggy, muddy foot in front of another while trying not to flinch at the loud _squelch!_ that inevitably followed. She almost screamed in frustration when they heard the telltale bark of a dog from behind, but without hesitation (because this was a matter of caught and not-caught), she slid purposefully in the mud, making sure to roll so as to cover her entire body in the icky, smelly stuff. Sasuke was doing the same to her left. By the time they'd scrambled to their feet, both looked like walking poop monsters.

Probably smell like them too, she thought disgustedly, but at least it masked their smell.

They found shelter in a ditch off to their left. It was well hidden, and had it not been for Sasuke's sharingan they would have missed it as well. Veering sharply, Sakura had just slid in when the distant barking came into hearing. Hardly daring to breathe, they listened as the mutts grew louder and louder—and then softer and softer. The barks themselves grew sparser, as if the dogs were less certain about where their prey was.

"They fell for it," Sasuke confirmed with his rinnegan minutes later. "Let's go home."

* * *

Perhaps the one ray of sunshine during this entire mission had been returning home at a decent hour. The sun had only just begun setting by the time the two shinobi passed through the gates, ignoring Kotetsu and Izumo's suggestive queries about wrestling in the mud. It was enough time for Sakura to go home and wash off the mud caked on her skin and hair. She mentally calculated in her head how many times she would need to shower to get the many layers of grime off (at least three, she thought grimly), how her poor drain would clog with all that mud (would putting a a paper towel over it act as a filter or a stopper), and then how soon she could sleep (10 at the latest because she fully intended on getting ten hours of quality time with her mattress and soft pillows).

Mind made up, she stretched languidly, wincing when flakes of dried mud cracked over the stretched skin and then fell in a shower of browns, greys, and blacks around her. Sasuke automatically stepped away from her, nose wrinkling in disgust.

"That had to be one of the most disgusting missions I've ever been on," Sakura groaned.

"I didn't expect Amegakure to have so much rain. By all accounts, the weather there had improved with Konan's death," he agreed. "That mud had to be at least a fifteen centimetres deep."

She shuddered at the thought. "Let's not talk about how close we were to being swallowed alive by brown muck." Sasuke's derisive snort earned him a death glare. "All I want right now is a bath, maybe food–I'm so tired though, I might just skip that part–and my bed."

"Hn." They stopped at a split in the road, where they would part for their respective apartments. And despite her fatigue and self-repulsion, she was also reluctant to leave Sasuke. A week ago, she'd decided to try again, but since then, this was the first time they'd had extended contact. Sasuke stared back at her, eyebrows furrowed as if trying to discern her thoughts. They were the one feature on his face unobscured by mud, and Sakura was stunned yet again by how very expressive they were. Eventually, he relaxed, and a soft almost-smile graced his lips. "Bye, Sakura."

Sakura opened her mouth to say goodbye. "Well Sasuke-kun, I-Dyouwannagetdinner?" came out instead.

She clapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't said that. Definitely not. Because asking him out was the _last_ thing on her mind up until a minute ago when he'd begun staring into her soul. Moments later, she remembered that she hadn't washed it in a few days, and who _knew_ what was mixed into the dirt., and promptly uncovered her mouth and spun around to spit out anything she might have ingested.

Sasuke watched on in a state of bemusement, shock, and not a little amusement. "Like a date?" he finally asked when her retching subsided.

He didn't need to see the blush hiding behind the mud to comprehend her look of mortification and panic. "Aha, no! No of course not! We'd just go as friends, cuz y'know, we're friends and stuff and it's totally a thing to eat dinner with a boyfriend. I mean, boy friend. Like guy friend. O-or if you want it to be more, it could be. A date, I mean. I don't care; I'm easy—I mean, not _easy_. You know what I mean! I'm okay with anything! Whether it's a friend thing or a date thing I—" she caught sight of his growing smirk, and she remembered her resolve to try. Taking a deep breath, she said very fearfully, but very clearly. "Yeah. Yeah like a date."

Sasuke raised an elegant eyebrow, though Sakura thought vaguely that the effect was marred by the thick streak of brown connecting his two perfect eyebrows. "Seriously, Sakura? We're covered in mud after a long, tiring mission and you decide to ask me on a date now?"

Sakura had the sense to look embarrassed. "Well…"

"What happened to the little girl who always needed to look her best around me, even on missions? That twelve year old was a hell of a lot smoother than you are," Sasuke teased, smile widening at Sakura's increasingly annoyed expression.

"So I'm a little rusty," Sakura grumbled, lip jutting out in a childish pout as she defensively folded her arms across her chest. "At least I had the guts to ask."

"You're so annoying." Her eyes snapped up to his at those familiar words, and she was stunned to see the genuine smile on his face. "I'll pick you up at ten. That should give us enough time to wash up."

A slow smile spread across Sakura's face, and two tears paved two lines of pale porcelain against her browned face. "I really want to hug you right now," she said in a constricted voice, "But I don't want to touch your dirt."

"Later then," he promised. "And if not today, then later soon. You'll have plenty of practice asking me on dates from now on."

* * *

"Nuh-uh, Sasuke-kun. I asked, I pay."

"Since when was that a rule?"

"Since tonight."

"Fine. Then I reserve all your free time from now until you die under a ubiquitous request to go on a date with me."

"Sasuke-_kun_, why are you so mean?"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Thus ends my contributions to the 2014 Sasusaku month. Thankyouthankyouthankyou to everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed this! Writers say it all the time, but seriously reviews give me ridiculous, anime-like, smiles.

I hope you liked _A World of Color_! One of these days, I'll go back and edit this, but for now, I'm content. I've had this part of the story planned out since almost the beginning of the month. On the plus side, writing this was relatively quick because I knew where I was going. On the down side, it made the prompts leading up to this pretty hard since I had to somehow build their relationship to this point. I think it's safe to say I did a better job with some prompts than others.

I really wish I had more time to write for the rest of the month! I had some ideas for some (read: two) of them, and since I'm not writing them out, excuse me while I spoil my own story. Granted I didn't have everything planned out, but:

The Other Side of the Wall—Sasuke moves out of Naruto's apartment (where he'd been staying since the attack on his old one in prompt… 4?) and into the old Uchiha grounds.

Tattoo—they get matching tattoos of a quote and a date (haven't decided what the date would be/what it signified), but this is inspired by someone I know who has the date of his marriage and a celtic quote tattooed to his forearm. His wife has a matching one.

Okayokay. I'm done.

~dydshark


End file.
